Cellular Price War Erupts Over Unlimited Plans

Verizon Wireless started a price war on Tuesday by announcing a $99.99 unlimited calling plan across the United States. The ink barely had time to dry on the press release before AT&T matched the offer.

Verizon Wireless introduced an unlimited calling plan for $99.99 a month on Tuesday, a move that was quickly matched by AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile USA and weighed down stock prices for all U.S. mobile carriers.

Verizon Wireless was apparently the first major carrier to make an "unlimited" plan available nationwide with no domestic roaming or long-distance fees. Its announcement was all but five hours old when AT&T announced its own unlimited plan.

Three hours later, T-Mobile followed suit, saying it would introduce a $99.99 plan on Thursday. Unlike the Verizon Wireless and AT&T plans, T-Mobile's includes unlimited text and picture messaging, which costs $14.99 per month when added to other T-Mobile plans.

How much upsell will they get from this? Not much, according to investors, who sent all 3 stocks down in today's trading.